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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Stânfolde Part 3 - Classes

Classes

Due
to the nature of the campaign, there are changes to the core classes that are
available. Some classes from the PHB
have been changed or replaced, others have been eliminated completely. Finally, there are some new core classes
available that are more appropriate for this campaign. The core classes that will be used are listed
below along with comments about any changes and the role the class plays in the
world. (All classes have at lease Simple
Weapon Proficiency).

Astrologer: Arcane spellcasters have
hidden their skills within the cloak of astrology for ages. Many now can combine their knowledge of the
stars with computing actual magical effects.
Astrologers aren’t as adventure oriented as wizards, but their skills
can be impressive if properly prepared.
(Uses Astrologer class from Occult Lore).

Avatar: Avatars are the mortal
agents of the Heavenly Host, summoning down the wrath of Heaven on the
unholy. They cast divine spells like
clerics, but specialize in the summoning of celestials and can even take on
angelic forms at higher levels. No one
chooses to be an avatar, they are chosen by Heaven. While they don’t have any specific place
among the clergy, avatars tend to be respected no matter where they go as they
bring the wrath of Heaven with them.
Many are allowed to be members of the Chapterhouse even if they don’t
meet the martial requirements. (Uses the
Avatar class from Green Ronin's Avatar Handbook).

Cleric: The fighting priests of the
Church, clerics are very common in the Stânfolde region. While the less combative Ecclesiastic class
is available, many members of the clergy are still clerics due to the great
need for martial prowess in this region.
A change to the class is that the ability to turn undead is replaced
with the ability to turn outsiders of an opposite good/evil alignment as there
are no undead in this world.

Ecclesiastic: Not all the clergy is as
talented at fighting as clerics are.
Those that tend to stay at home or in the city often become
ecclesiastics, divine spellcasters that focus almost solely on their
spellcasting abilities. Note that
ecclesiastic may not be multi-classed with cleric. (From Netbook of Classes).

Fighter: Still the most common class,
the fighter gains Intimidation and one other skill of the player’s choice as a
class skill.

Martial
Artist:Masters
of exotic fighting styles. There is a
tradition in Stânfolde called Angel’s Fist where specially trained fighters and
martial artists travel and challenge one another in a continuing quest to
perfect their fighting style. These
fighting styles are taught by individual masters who often keep a retinue of
students. (From Beyond Monks)

Rogue: The rogue is unchanged in
rules and attitude from the Player’s Handbook.

Ranger: A consummate outdoorsman,
the ranger has more in common with the rogue than the druid. The ranger is fighting class, though he tends
to focus more on stealth and skill than outright confrontation. (Modified 3.5e ranger, on separate printout).

Paladin: The paladin is unchanged from the Player’s
Handbook. They play a very important
role in this world full demons and devils.

Shaman: In game terms, the shaman is
a divine spellcaster but in reality he doesn’t cast the spells as much as coax
his spirit allies to cast spells for him.
While more at home with nature than other classes, the shaman doesn’t
worship it as she understands the spirits are awakened through the breath of
God. A change to the class is that
angels may be taken as spirit companions along with normal spirits. (Uses the shaman from Mongoose's Shamans).

Skald: The skald serves an
important part of this martial society.
Through the skalds, a living record of the deeds of the past are kept to
inspire to heroes of the present. Skalds
themselves are warrior poets, using the inspiration of the heroes from the past
to make them effective combatants.
(Original class, on printout).

Witch: Unlike other arcane
spellcasters, witches don’t experiment and play around with their Enochian
spells. Rather, they all cast from the
same book, the Book of Shadows, which is said to have been given to them
by Uriel in ages past. While this claim
is not disputed by the church, there is still some distrust from the peasantry
as their magics are still arcane in nature.
The class itself focuses on subtle spontaneous spellcasting combined
with ritual and natural knowledge. (Uses
the witch from the Green Ronin's Witch’s Handbook).

Wizard: Perhaps the most mistrusted
of all the classes, wizards all cast their spells from the same magical
language – Enochian, the angelic language of creation. While what they do is not technically evil,
it is considered the ultimate act of hubris by the church and there is a good
deal of mistrust. Most wizards learn to
sling a sword along with spells to help their appearance. The class itself has a slightly different
spell list (due to the lack of necromancy) but is otherwise unchanged.